Difficult decision.

[nwhiker]

We ended up with four choices, for rentals. Most of these are within a few hundred $ of each other, nothing earth-shattering.

Each had their own issues.

1) Gorgeous house with view of Lake Sammamish. Plenty big. Nicely done. AWESOME landlord. Extremely cheap for what it is. Far from Linnea's school (ie long commute for me), we'd have to get cable because the cell network isn't, and really steep stairs to the bedrooms which would not be good for my frail old lady cat.

2) Cool old brick house in downtown Redmond. About 100 years old. It's enourmous, nicely done, kept up etc. Plaster walls and all that. Old knob and tube wiring, but seems well maintained. Moose head -no, I am NOT kidding- in one of the bedrooms, cedar lined closets. No real problem with it, beyond the fact that the furnace was ancient, the appliances as well. Slight mildewy smell, the house flooded last year, and I don't think it would be an issue, but our fear was that it would be hard to heat. Also no great place for litterbox except the basement, see above on stairs, one bathroom, and no dishwasher, though the last isn't that horrid. I did like the idea of my kids getting to live in an older house! Rent was more than fair.

3) Luxury apartments. 3 bedrooms, decently laid out, the complex is rather nice, there are three pools, a jacuzzi, and a nice exercise room. Near DT Redmond. Like most apartments, it's closely packed in, and people feel very close. Decent rent.

4) Split level about 5 minutes away from us. Rent is a total ripoff, they still haven't finished the renovation, the paint is horrid, it's a 70s house they're trying to pass off as something else. As I said above, they're delusional on the rent. It's got four bedrooms, three bathrooms, plenty of space, and the lower floor is at ground level, so easy to move stuff in, and the "living floor" above is all on one level, so good for the kitty.

We ended up choosing 4. Makes no sense, right? Except that first point: 5 minutes from here. Which means that I don't have to change my routines, and will not be spending an extra hour or more in commute traffic every day.

As dh just said, it was the logical call, but not the emotional call.

The funny thing? I liked the old house best, the Sammamish landlord, this location, and the swimming pool and jacuzzi at the apartments. I can haz mashup?

Comments

[siamese1.livejournal.com]

I don't think you ever got to see the rental we lived in while our house was being done. Horrid insulation (it never warmed up in winter), one bathroom for all 3 of us to share, and a never-ending ant infestation. Our major plus was that we could see our new house being built from the driveway of the rental. We didn't have to rent a truck, we just rolled our stuff down the street. :D

[divsca.livejournal.com]

We'll be embarking on the remodel-rental journey in a few months. I haven't really started looking around yet, but perhaps I should!

[secretburning.livejournal.com]

I tend to go for the best value, but I'm making more decisions these days based on time savings, because my time has a value too. Lengthy commutes have a steep price in their own way.